A new tool is being used at Mercy’s Orthopedic Hospital in Springfield, MO for patients undergoing total knee replacement.
The VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution has been used by surgeons at Mercy Orthopedic Hospital since last fall.
Mercy Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Brad Walz said he’s been using the new technology for three or four months.
While there are several robotic systems currently on the market, what’s unique about VELYS, he said, is that it doesn’t require any pre-operative CT scan.
"It's actually live," said Walz. "It's intraoperative customization, so we're using the patient's natural anatomy, getting data intraoperatively and using that data to perform the operation."
He said the new technology allows for greater accuracy and therefore improves outcome and speed of recovery.
"People seem to be...about three to four weeks ahead in their physical therapy," he said.
That’s because there’s less soft tissue damage during the procedure than during traditional knee replacement surgery. Walz said patients who have had both have told him they’re able to get off narcotic pain medication earlier as well.
He estimated they've use the new technology in more than 100 cases so far.
Mercy’s Orthopedic Hospital has seen a jump in the number of patients needing total knee replacements. The hospital performed 1,896 total knee replacements in Fiscal Year 2023 and was close to 900 procedures by last November.
Another area hospital using robotic technology for total knee replacement surgery is Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar. It uses Stryker-Mako technology.
